Method of making gas rich in carbon monoxid.



- H. FOE-RSTE-RLING.

METHOD OF MAKING GAS RICH IN CARBON MONOXID.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9,1912. I

1 00,? 1 9 Patented Oct. 10, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- 6 WITNESSES: %fl% INVENTOI? A TTOR/VEV H.FOERSTERLING.

METHOD OF MAKING GAS RICH IN CARBON MONOXID.

APPUCATION FILED NOV. 9. 1912.

SSHEETS-SHEET 2- 1,200,719. Patented Oct. 10,1916.

W ITNESSES: I %M INVENTOR KM By 19. MW v ATTORNEY H. FOERSTERLING.

METHOD OF MAKING GAS RICH lN CARBON MONOXID.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9| I912.

Patented Oct. 10, 1916.

3 SHEETSSHEEIT 3.

\1 WITNESSES: g9 nvvavm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HANS FOEESTEELING, 0F PERTH AMBOY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE ROESSLER& HASSLACHER CHEMICAL CO., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW IYORK.

METHOD OF MAKING GAS RICH IN CARBON MONOXID.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1916.

Application filed November 9, 1912. Serial No. 730,317.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HANS FoEnsTEnLmo, a subject of the German Emperor,and a resident of Perth Amboy, county of Middlesex, State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methdds of MakingGas Rich in, Carbon Monoxid, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a new and improved method for making a gasrich in carbon monoxid. V

It particularly refers to a method of making such carbon monoxid gasfrom the carbon dioxid contained in waste gases, which otherwise wouldbe lost, and the object of the invention is to obtain practically all ofthe available heat units in the original fuel as well as other products,such I as carbon dioxid, for further utilization toward the purpose inView thus effecting great economy in operation.

' For a clearer understanding of my invention I shall describe the samein connect-ion with the accompanying drawings forming part of thisspecification and illustrating in a rather diagrammatic way one form ofapparatus by which my method may be carried into effect.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a portion of saidapparatus, Fig. 2 is an elevation partly in section of the apparatusadjoining that shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 is an elevationpartly insection of the apparatus adjoining that shown in Fig. 2. The threefigures whenjoined together, end to end, in the order given illustratethe complete apparatus.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts throughouttheseveral views.

Referringto the drawings, A and A indicate retorts, made of fire clayand placed in a suitable oven B connected with a gas generator 0supplying gas for heating the retorts A and A Bituminous coal, lignite,peat or the like fuel is charged into the retorts A and A and is splitup by dry distillation, due to the high heat generated by combustion ofthe gases coming from generator G, into tar, gas and coke. The gases,

heavily loaded withtar, escape at opening D and are cooled in a suitablecondenser- (not shown)? thus liquefying the tar, while the incandescentresidue of coke is discharged from the retorts and delivered into thecombustion chamber F of gas-producer G. It is essential for the successof my inventlon that the discharge of the coke from the retorts into thegas-producer be done quickly and be efi'ected without exposing the coket0 the air, so as to avoid ignition. Thls manipulation may be easilycarried out by means of a movable conduit H which, by any suitablemeans, may be arranged with 1ts upper end beneath'normally closeddischarge openings E, E, in thebottoms of the retorts and its lower endin air-tight connection with feed-hopper I of gas-producer G.

Gas producer G is provided in its lower portlon with pipe K for theadmission of air or other suitable gases or a mixture of air and suchother gases. The hot gases generated 1n producer G pass off through pipeL into a boiler M where they give off their heat to the Water or otherliquor within the boiler. The water or other liquor under pressureenters the boiler by means of pipe M from any suitable source (notshown), and any gas or steam generated inside of boiler M may pass olfand may be controlled by means of the valves provided in pipe M at thetop of the boiler. Pipe M may convey a portion of the steam or gasgenerated in boiler M to generator G, where it may be discharged intopipe K, the remainder of said steam or gas being conducted elsewhere foruseful purposes as desired. The hot producer gases entering the boiler Mthrough pipe L travel up along the tubes M pass over wall'M, dividinggases escaping there is transformed into motive power by the engine inwhich the gases are exploded and the gases thus, according to theirconstituents and their quantities respectively, producing certain otherwell known gases, viz. carbon dioxid and sulfur dioxid. It is evidentthat the gases resulting from the explosion and exhausted after theexplosion are at high temperature, whichfact may be taken advantage of.I prefer to conduct the exhaust gases by pipe L into a boiler P,constructed similarly to boiler M, in which said gases are cooled bytransferring their heat to the contents of boiler P. A pipe P conductscertain liquid substances into the middle container'of preheater P apipe P at the top of boiler P permitting the warm from to pass aroundsaid middle container thus preheating the liquors therein, which throughpipe P finally enter boiler P at the bottom. Overflow pipe I? maintainsthe contents of boiler P at a constant level. The gases escaping fromboiler P through pipe P and, cooled in the preheatenP leave thepreheater P by means of pipe P, connecting with pipe P discharging intopipe K at the lower porlatter a fan S is connected by means of pipe tionof the gas producer. The exhaust gases from the engine traveling in theother direction, cool down during their passage through boiler P andleave the same by means of pipe L and enter a washing vessel Q. filledwith a concentrated solution of sodium carbonate, supplied from tank Q Alike absorption vessel R is connected with by means of pipe L so thatthe gases may travel from vessel Q to vessel R; to the L so asto removecertain gases, which are of no consequence in connection with thesubject matter of this invention. A cooling tower T, provided withsuitable connections T and T .for the circulation of a suitable coolingfluid, is connected to absorption vessel R- by means of pipe W in orderto provide a solution of potassium carbonate for filling vessel R.

I shall now describe one way of practising my invention in connectionwith the apparatus disclosed.

As already 'mentioned above, bituminous coal, lignite, peat or the likefuel is charged into the gas retorts A and A and submitted there to drydistillation whereby coke and some by-products such as gas,'tar, etc.,are produced. What is done with the by-products of the distillation,after they have escaped through D to a condensing apparatus, etc., is ofno consequence in connection with the subject matter of my invention, asthey may find various uses The incandescent coke left as residue in theinto the combustion chamber of producer G to be there treated in aspecial way with the retorts is charged purpose in view which will bemore fully explained below.

If regular producer gases are utilized in a gas engine for thegeneration of'power, the gas is mixed withair in order to create anexplosive mixture and the more nearly this explosion conforms totheoretical combust on the more nearly do the exhaust gases consist ofan ideal composition of nitrogen and carbon dioxid gas, with only suchadmixtures as are due to impurities in the fuel, for instance a smallcontent of sulfur dioxid due to the sulfur in the original combustible.

The subject matter of my invention is chiefly centered in the carbondioxid of the exhaust gases with reference to its utilization inconnection with the considerable heat stored in the incandescent cokewith a desire to produce a gas rich in carbon monoxid at the lowestcost. It is evident therefore that the carbon dioxid of the exhaustgases should be brought into a suitable and proper form so as to cause areduction of said carbon dioxid into carbon monoxid by means of thehighly incandescent coke.

If it be assumed that the gas producer G is already running asdescribed, to give the supply of fuel gas to the gas engine, the exhaustgases from the engine would of course continuously have a certaincomposition consisting chiefly of nitrogen and carbon dioxid. In orderto obtain these latter gases in the most beneficial form and withoutwasting the heat carried by the same, the exhaust gases are conductedfrom the gas engine into boiler P where they give off heat; the cooledcontalning a solution bonate, where the sulfur dioxid is removed by thesimultaneous generation of carbon' dioxid. The remaining exhaust gasescontainingthe carbon dioxid from washing vessel Q then pass intoabsorption vessel R which contains potassium carbonate solution andwhicheagerly absorbs all the carbon dioxid gas, ge'ngas and the excessof oxygen is removed by fan S. The potassium carbonate solution as itcomesfrom cooling tower T, which is connected with boiler P by means ofoverflow pipe P has a temperature sufiiciently low to allow completeabsorption of the carbon dioxid. After such absorption the saturatedsolution is conducted by pipe P from vessel R to preheater P and thenceinto the boiler P by pipe P to be heated in the boiler by the hotexhaust gases, whereby the carbon dioxid is driven out of the potassiumcarbonate'solution and passes through pipe P around preheater P to pipesP, P which discharge into-pipe K at the lower portion of the gasproducer G, the carbon dioxid passing thence into the coke bed oftheprowhereupon the remaining nitroe ducer to be reduced there intocarbon monoxid gas by the highly incandescent coke."

The generated gases obviously leave the gas producer at a very hightemperature which is taken advantage of in boiler M to which they passthrough pipe L. As I have already shown in U. S. Letters Patents Nos.1,015,549, and 1,015,550, granted to me J anuary 23, 1912, I am able toproduce steam of high pressure in boiler M, and to produce such steam insuch great quantities that a part of it is fully sufiicient to supplythe gas generator if, in case of emergency, it should be run in the wellknown method of blowing in a mixture of air and steam; for this purposepipe M connects with pipe I discharging into pipe K at the lower portionof the producer, the operation of said pipes being controlled bysuitable valves as shown.

It is evident that the considerable amount of heatcarried into the gasproducer with the chargeof highly incandescent coke goes a long way tocause the reduction according to the equation\C+CO =2CO. As thisreaction, however, requires a great amount of heat, I blow a limitedsupply of air into through pipe X. The gas thus produced is very rich inpure carbon monoxid inasmuch as the exhaust gases from the engine 0 werecarefully freed from im- "purities and the absorption of carbon dioxidin and subsequent liberation from the potas- I sium solution results ina pure carbon dioxid. If this rich gas, the production of which I havenow described, is exploded in the gas engine 0, I arrive again at theproduction of exactly the same kind of exhaustgases to which I havehereinabove referred in describing the operation of my invention.

It is obvious that my invention is not limited to the exact apparatusshown or described, but that I am entitled to any fair, equivalentthereof whereby my method may be carried out, it being requisite onlythat practically pure carbon dioxid coming from whatever sources, as forinstance combustion, limekilns, fermentation processes, etc., be reducedby highly incandescent coke, that said incandescent coke be transferredin this state from a suitable apparatus, such as an apparatus for drydistillation, into the producer and that the reduction of a regulatedamount of carbon dioxid gas be effected by the heat stored in theincandescent coke, and by the residual heat left by the gas makingprocess.

It is immaterial in which way some details, which however are veryimportant to economical success, are carried out; for instance it isimmaterial whether gas retorts are used for the generation of coke orwhether this is done in regular coking ovens, inasmuch as these factorsare largely decided by the size of the gas producer plant. It isimmaterial whether the gas retorts are erected above the gas producerinasmuch as the gas retorts may be erected in a suitable oven beside thegas producer; in this case the incandescent coke for example may bedlscharged into a basket having an air-tight cover and thus charged intothe gas producer or be distributed in suitable portions over thegas-producer; it is also immaterial at which periods I add incandescentcoke tolthe gas producer to replenish the gasified co to.

It is furthermore immaterial as to what kind of a gas producer I gasifythe coke in as any "such apparatus for the production of gas fortechnical and domestic use from fuel by gasifying the same will answermy purpose; in what kind of washers and absorbers the removal of theimpure gases and the final absorption of the carbon dioxid respectivelytakes place, the most material point being the utilization of the wasteheat for the liberation of the carbon dioxid gas from the absorbingliquid.

It is obvious therefore that I do not restrict myself to the arrangementor kind of apparatus shown or to the steps of the process described inconnection therewith, further than the scope of the appended claimsdemand. 7

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1; The cyclic process of making and burning gas having a high andsubstantially constant content of carbon-monoxid consisting in providinga body of incandescent coke,

conducting carbon-dioxid, steam and air therethrough whereby a gas richin carbonmonoxid is produced, cooling the off-going producer gascontaining carbon-monoxid and; forming steam thereby, burning the cooledproducer gas containing carbonmonoxid, cooling the products of saidcombustion, separating the carbon-dioxid from the other products of saidcombustion and injecting a portion of the steam derived from the coolingof the producer gas with an admixture of air and said carbon-dioxid intothe body of incandescent coke.

2. The cyclic process of making and burning gas having a high andsubstantially constant content of carbon-monoxid consisting inintermittently providing a body of of combustion of the producer gas,return- In testimony whereof I have signed this ing thecarbon-dioxid-freed absorbent to 1111- specification in the presence oftwo subscribsorb other carbon-dioxid and injecting a ing Witnesses.

portion of the steam derived from the cool- HANS FOERSTERLING. 5 ing ofthe producer gas with an admixture Witnesses:

of air and said freed carbon-dioxid into the v ARTHUR L. GARDNER,

body of incandescent coke. F. W. WEBER.

